Museums, theaters, ballparks reopen as state officials urge caution
Published 5:30 pm Monday, June 1, 2020
- Bill Graham / The Meridian Star Elizabeth Williams, an adult educator at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian, cleans items at the center on Monday. The museum is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday after being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As museums, ballparks and movie theaters reopened Monday, Gov. Tate Reeves urged Mississippians not to let their guard down.
“The threat of COVID-19 is as great as ever, if not greater,” he said. “We are not back to normal.”
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said there continues to be significant coronavirus activity in the state, most of it generated by community spread.
Over the weekend, health officials reported the highest number of COVID-19 patients statewide on ventilators, at 108, Dobbs said.
As of Monday, the total had decreased to 97, he said.
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported three new cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County Monday, for a total of 741.
Records show 62 people from the county have died from the virus since the outbreak began.
A curfew established in response to high COVID-19 activity in Meridian is being extended in the city.
The 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, which would have expired Monday, remains in effect until June 14.
Staff at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian were cleaning items at the museum Monday in preparation for opening Tuesday for the first time since mid-March.
All businesses were permitted to reopen Monday, with certain restrictions.
In Monday’s update, MSDH confirmed 148 cases and 19 deaths in Clarke County, 145 cases and 11 deaths in Kemper County, 671 cases and 39 deaths in Neshoba County and 278 cases and four deaths in Newton County.
Statewide, health officials reported 251 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 15,752 and five additional deaths, for a total of 739.
Records show 418 Mississippians were hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Sunday.
Dobbs said the state has completed testing at 211 nursing homes across Mississippi, a total of approximately 26,000 patients and employees.
